Mako and Swords
by Umiki
Summary: Click the link above and you will find a series of Usagi/FFVII pairings. Go ahead and see if any of them are to your taste!


Mako and Swords

This is a series of ficlets where Usagi is paired with different people from the FFVII game. Each ficlet will be separate from the previous or next ficlet. If anyone sees ideas in these ficlets that are similar to others works than know I am not trying to plagiarize or anything like that, since most of these ficlets I made up on the spot. These include ideas that sometimes start out as those old 'what if' situations and some that just plain creep _me_ out sometimes.

Warning: some of these ficlets have kink, tabboo relations, experiemnt induced anthro, or darker sides of humanity. I understand that some people would be disgusted by them so I have only one thing to say about it.

If you don't like it, skip that story for the next one or just leave all together.

Thank you.

On a side note, my main FVIISM crossover, the Shield of Gaia Stage 1, is almost finished. I have run into a most troublesome writer's block for the past four months though so the final chapters are slow going.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy Mako and Swords!

\/\/\/\\/

"Dinner's ready!" Usagi called to the group, ignoring the looks of unease when she brought out her family's famous sour Icicle Inn buffets. And when they say sour, they _**mean**_ sour. Setting the platters down she huffed when she saw her husband hunched over some plans with Reeve right next to him. Really, this was supposed to be an AVALANCHE get together to relax!

Marching over to her dear husband she grabbed his dark muscle laden arm and dragged him out of his chair and to the table; smiling at Marlene's giggling and Yuffie's cackles at the sight of the huge Correl man being dragged by the petite Icicle woman. Of course her Dear would not ignore her now, nor would he do anything that could harm her, he was too soft at heart to do that.

Though when he got hot blooded from time to time she did have to bring out her battle-umbrella to beat him down a peg or two.

She made sure to stuff his plate with the sour Icicle food, ignoring his look of fear and his glances for help from the others. It was only her skill in lip-reading that allowed her to know that Tifa was saying 'She's your wife Barrett, you have to eat what she makes'. From his sudden slumping, she figured he understood her too. She decided to give him a break.

"Don't worry Honey, as per tradition at an Icicle feast the guests have to eat twice what the man of the house eats as a sign of respect to his guests." Usagi told him cheerfully, ignoring the reverse of smiles to wide eyes on their faces. Yuffie even looked like she was going to faint from the fear. Barrett simply gave them a huge grin and a wave of his metal hand.

Yes indeed, being the husband of an Icicle woman had its perks.

\/\/\/\/\/

Every day it was the same.

Get up, get dressed, grab a coffee and a toast from the café on the first floor of her cot-house, walk two miles to work through the chaotic traffic of Edge, sign in, walk up to the top floor of the building, sit down and start typing on the computer, hours later having lunch in the lounge, working again for hours more, going home, massaging her sore feet till they were like putty, eat some dinner, spend a few hours watching the TV or listening to the radio, than go to bed.

The only times her day had any change was when the Boss would come down, looking either ragged and in need of coffee or with a skip in his step that was contagious. The other was when a certain little robotic cat would dance and sing at unexpected times of the day. She usually gave him small trinkets or food to take back to the Boss. She always tried to ignore the encouraging looks she got whenever she saw the Boss wearing or using said trinkets.

Didn't mean she could stop the blush that always crossed her face every time Boss gave her a smile.

\/\/\\/\

The first time she met him had been when the Mayor had come to talk with her father and mother on their day off from the fields. She had wandered off farther than normal and had come across the tallest of the Barona trees in the village. In her child-like mind, the tree had been a tower and no matter how hard she tried she always ended up losing her grip and falling to the ground.

After the fifth try she had heard a young boy's voice demanding to know what she had been doing. She had turned to the source to find a little boy no older than she. At that time she had only seen a boy and had treated him as such. His shocked look when she had hit him had been priceless and after a few choice, child-like words from herself, she had run back home to the sound of the dinner bell.

After that they kept meeting each other in different ways, some by accident, others by choice. She met Angeal and his mother Gillian, became something she knew he called friend, and had even given him her favorite book as a goodbye present when he told her one day he was going to join SOLDIOR. The day he left she gave him her first kiss and the biggest hug she had ever given; waving goodbye with silent tears as the truck took him and Angeal away to Midgar, he unknowingly or not taking my heart with him.

As the years went by they traded letters, with each letter taking longer to reply until they stopped altogether after he and Angeal took part in the war and became the highest ranking in SOLDIOR. By than her parents had begged her to look for a husband, but she had told them that none of the men in the village could have a heart that had already been taken. They gave up after the tenth try.

She spent many of her days tending to her two unique Barona White Apple trees in the back of her edge-of-the-town cot. Two Barona trees entwined with each other in a loop, poetic really.

But not today, today she sat underneath said trees waiting for the presence she had felt since this morning approach steadily to her little hut. Leaning against one of the trees she closed her eyes and envisioned the approach from the sound of the steps on the gravel trail. Within minutes the footsteps stopped in front of her and she gave a peaceful look, her eyes still closed.

"You have killed them, the villagers. I heard the screams from here." The feet shifted but did not come closer.

"Then why did you not flee?" a dark rich voice inquired.

"Because I am a being who has lost their heart. I gave it away years ago to someone who even now I would cherish above all others, even myself, but even to this day I do not know if he even really cared about me as something more than a friend." She paused before continuing, her body sagging. "I am tired now, with this heartless shell I live in. Living or dying, it matters not. We all die at one point or another, but it is how we die that leave a mark."

The footsteps drew closer and she felt the cold bite of steel at her throat. "And what mark would you like to leave?"

She gave her soon-to-be killer a gentle smile. "The mark I would love to have, would be for him to always remember me as the little girl who punched him in the check when he pulled my hair, to hear the girl who laughed every time he told a joke, to see the smile I gave when we sat next to a fire during the harvest season and pointed out the stars." She pushed herself an inch closer, letting the blade draw a tear of blood. "I want to leave the mark of Usagi, nothing more."

The air was silent. Nothing moved. It remained like this for minutes or maybe hours before the blade dropped from her neck and she was embraced into a furnace. When she heard dry tears in his voice she finally opened her eyes and gave a small smile when she saw a familiar head of red hair tickling her check. She didn't so much as blink at the sight of the black wing sprouting from his shoulder, even as it encased itself around the both of them.

She embraced him in turn and rocked him slowly. "Welcome back Genesis. Welcome back."

\/\/\\/

Usagi twisted the cloth nervously in her hands over and over again, feeling ready to burst from the tension she felt. Aeris encircled her shoulders with a comforting grasp and laid her head on Usagi's shoulder, slowly rocking them both as she too waited in barely held anticipation.

Earlier that week the last two Cetra had felt something change in the Lifestream. It took them a while to figure out that it was taking place in the Nibelheim area, the area that Zack, Cloud, and Sephiroth had gone for a mission. Usagi had worked herself into a wreak forcing her powers push her limit, doing everything she could to place protection over the souls of the three before she had been violently wrenched away from them. She had fallen into a coma for days before waking up to Aeris worried face.

Usagi ceased twisting the cloth when the sound of a chopper's blades cutting the air filled the churches inner sanctum. Both she and Aeris jumped up from the flower bed and grabbed their respective weapons, a whip and a staff; only one group they knew of used helicopters to travel. And considering their status with the group's sponsor, they couldn't take any chances.

The sound of the door clicking open sent them into a defensive position, their muscles tensing in preparation for anything. What opened the door though was not who they were expecting. Usagi nearly dropped her whip, Aeris outright dropped her staff.

"Tseng?" Usagi startled.

"Mother?" Aeris cried.

"Aeris, Usagi, trust me when I say we need to go now. There is a chopper waiting for us but we need to go." Tseng told them. Aeris looked to her mother in confirmation.

Mrs. Gainsborough sighed heavily, "He's right girls. I hate it to the core of my being but we need to go with them now. It will be explained on the way."

Both Cetra shared a glance before Usagi searched Tseng's heart. Her eyes widened and she gasped, "Aeris, they are telling the truth." Aeris hesitated only for a moment.

Now flying to who knew where, the two Cetra gave the Turk an expectant stare. Tseng, knowing that he needed to explain to them and now, began to tell them about the true reason for the mission in Nibelheim. About how Hojo had given the order and what was waiting for them. Usagi nearly fainted when he told them of how the three had been found, barely alive and the town half-burnt to the ground. Of how the General had, even with his serious wounds, declared that he would kill President Shinra and Hojo along with any who sided with them. Tseng also explained how the President and Hojo had reacted to that.

"So we're hostages." Aeris had calmly asked. Surprisingly Tseng answered negatively and told them that the Turks had….chosen to cut their ties from Shinra after they discovered the still living and sane Turk Vincent Valentine, even though he had been officially declared KIA to the Turks. Usagi, upon hearing that, had to give a drop of pity to the President and Hojo. It was true that Turks were loyal to the mission, but they were also loyal to each other. You hurt a single Turk, and you'll be running for the rest of your short life from all of them.

"As of now SOLDIORs, Turks, a few scientists, the weapons experts, and a great deal of Infantrymen have rebelled and there are fights breaking out on the Plate between those loyal to the General and those under Shinra. The President fled form Midgar a while ago along with Hojo and Heidegger, but Scarlet and Reeve chose to stay with Vice-President Rufus. The General and his two subordinates are being brought to Shinra Tower as we speak, that is where we are going now."

Hours later, Usagi dropped into the spare chair she had grabbed and sighed in exhaustion. She and Aeris had spent the better part of the day healing people brought in from the fights, which had finally ceased an hour or so ago. Usagi had been thankful for the distraction, especially considering no one had brought her news of Sephiroth or the others for hours.

And as if her thoughts had cast a summon Reno appeared and shook her. She cast him a glare as he gave her a cheeky grin. "Reno if you are here to-"

"Nahh, I'm just here to tell you that your precious boy-toy is in the main office and is being his usual self." She was gone before he even finished that sentence. She ignored the sounds of surprise as she weaved through bodies and raced up the stairs, all thirty floors away. She slammed the door open and continued racing down the hall until she reached the door to the main office. Not even pausing she took her whip and slashed it open. There were cries of surprise and only her training allowed her to doge the bullet aimed at her head, but all of that paled in comparison when she saw him. She dashed to him and _jumped_ onto him, clinging to him and not caring she was crying her heart out in front of an audience and calling him an idiot for making her worry over his stupid hide and a lot of other things.

"Zackary, why is your lover interrupting an important meeting." Sephiroth. Always the stickler for the rules.

"Considering how worried she was and how hard she pushed her powers and her mind, I believe she has every right to be given attention right now General. You did mention that you felt something protecting your mind during the mission." Good old analytical Tseng.

She felt the body underneath her shift. "Wait you mean it was Usa?"

"She was in a coma for days. She was so weak she could not be moved without Aeris half-carrying her. The fact she spent hours healing others than running a marathon up thirty floors should indicate how much she wanted to see you."

'Which reminds me that I am really tired right now.' Usagi thought to herself as she suddenly sagged into Zack's arms.

Zack for the better part started panicking the moment he noticed she was unconscious.

\/\/\\/\/

It was the scent of cigarette smoke that warned her of his approach before she heard his heavy footsteps. "Can I help you captain?" She smirked when she heard his muttered cursing.

"You can tell me why my *$! %*$ ship has a #*%#*& rattling in one of the #%&*#* exhaust pipes!" Usagi tilted her head back so that she was looking at him upside-down, giving him a cheeky grin.

"Why captain, you should know better than to curse so readily. Those curses may come back to haunt you."

"I don't %$&^%$ care dammit! Why is there a ^%*%*$ rattling in my pipes?" Oh how she loved seeing his face purple like that.

"Don't tell me you can't understand mores code? Captain, shame on you!" she teased.

"Damn ^*&#% woman, what are you-"

"I was just telling you 'Good morning Captain. I love you.' Really Captain, you need to learn these things. The entire crew could tell what I was telling you yet you couldn't understand a single word."

Oh how she loved seeing him go from purple to cherry to purple again in seconds.

\/\/\\

She had always loved the color red.

Red is the color of life. Red is the color of fire. Red is the color of passion. Red is the color of war.

No matter where she looked, red could be seen on everything that she laid eyes on. The only times she _couldn't_ see the color red was when she was actually _looking_ at something that was red. To her, _red_ was like a white film that never changed. The PROFESSOR muttered once that it had been a side-effect from the experiments done to her.

She didn't really care about why she saw it or how, only that it happened and that it brought change to her world of red.

Because of red she always tried to make her enemies bleed as much as possible. When they didn't bleed enough, she attacked anyone she could to give her freedom. Man, woman, child. She came to be called a Demon for it by those who had to fight alongside her. Because of red she always coordinated her room to contrast _red_ and red, her clothes nothing but a contrast of the two. Many stared at her whenever she passed by, mainly because to them she was a mix of _red_ and every other color that existed. Because of red she could barely interact with others because to her the person was nothing but a tall mass of red, black lines and shades, and occasionally _red_.

Thus when she first met him, all she could see was his _red_ spiky hair. Even as he insulted her then asked her if she was alright, all she could do was stare at his hair. No one before had _red_ hair, they were rare in the world. That moment she told him that his was the first non-red hair she had ever seen, and that she thought it was beautiful.

After that whenever she was sent out on a mission, it was he and his partner that escorted her. She wasn't sure if he hated her or not, she didn't care, but every time he let his guard down she plucked some of his hairs out and played with them every chance she got. It stayed that way until one day he came to her and told her everything was over; the Tower was going to fall. He asked if she wanted to come with him and those like him. She accepted.

It's been years since then and so many things have happened but now, with the _red_ splattered bundle in her arms, she couldn't really care. She looked up the _red_ man and asked him, "Is this a doll?" The others who had sat in different parts of the room made noises of disbelief and some shook their heads.

He snickered and shook his head before lifting the bundle into his arms. "No babe, it's a baby. A boy." She stared at him for a moment and tilted her head, the red glass-like film in-laid over her eyes glinting in the light.

"What color does he see?" He glanced at his baby and nearly smirked at the barely-colored film already forming over the baby's eyes.

"Red."

\/\/\/\/\/\

Usagi swore that she had to be dreaming. That was the only reason she had for seeing the sight before her. A couple of warks later and she rephrased that. No way was this a dream.

For one thing, this was too cute to be a dream. If it was a dream it would involve a lot more erotic than cute.

"This is not funny at all." Usagi's lips twitched.

"Funny? Forget funny, this is adorable." Insert a glare, which is overrun by the utter cuteness surrounding said glare.

"I knew you and chocobos got along great Cloud, but I never thought that you minded being treated like a chick. I mean sure your hair is like a chocobos but seriously, must you let my birds man-handle you till they won't listen to me anymore?"

Cloud growled but yelped midway when the hen sitting on the back of his legs tugged his hair again, this time with a scolding wark for moving again. Usagi sighed and decided to give him a brake. Jumping over the wooden pen she approached her prized gold hen and began whistling. The hen froze and then stood to attention like a soldier, giving Cloud the chance to dash over the pen. The hen glanced pitifully to the now distant mop of hair but remained still as Usagi whistled again. Usagi pulled some greens out and whistled one last time before throwing them to the hen, who caught them in mid air and began munching on them. Walking back to the fence she hoisted herself over it and sat on top of it, watching the ex-AVALANCHE leader straighten his clothes and hair.

"Cloud, may I ask why you would come all the way out to my farm, in the middle of no-where, to visit a former Turk?" Usagi asked, light sarcasm tainting her voice.

Cloud shot her a look. "It's not hard to find you Usagi. You're the only one who would think of living on the mountain plateaus that lets you see the Gold Saucer every night just to raise chocobos."

Usagi raised an eyebrow. "Two things: One, I was raised on mountains so for me this is comfortable and the Gold Saucer is one of my trading spots. Two, that doesn't answer my question."

Cloud looked like he wanted to curse but held it in as he walked over to his bike and pulled out a package. Walking back to her he handed it out and told her, "I was asked by Yuffie to deliver this to you. She also made it clear that she wanted me to wait for a reply to take back." Usagi blinked before taking the package and opened it. She had to slap a hand to her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

Inside were some dream powder, what she knew to be First-Class-Tested restraining cords, a pair of black leather gloves, a black dress, a whip, and a note covering it all saying, "Here's your chance! Get him while he's alone!" Usagi felt her shoulders tremble from laughter as she folded the package and gave Cloud a smile that set him on edge.

"Cloud would you like something to eat and drink before heading out? Yuffie just gave me some ingredients that when added right make a good soup." Cloud remained weary but nodded slowly after a few seconds of contemplation. Usagi just kept smiling.

She so owed Yuffie after this.

\/\/\/\\/\

Many wondered why she liked him so much even though they were complete opposites in terms of personality and standing, he a solemn quite Turk and her an energetic member of AVALANCHE. Many also wondered why he returned her attentions when he had told his colleagues that he originally liked her fellow AVALANCHE member Tifa.

Their reasons were so simple that the one time they told the truth to someone, his partner spat his drink across the table. He never brought it up again after that.

He liked her because for all her crying at the smallest of things, she never cried when she was struck by his fists. She never let pain break her as it had her family.

She loved him to death because his fists reminded her of the fists that took her family's lives and beat her within an inch of her life. She adored him because his source of strength was the same as the one that taught her the realities of the world that cold dark night so many years ago.

\/\\\/\/

It had been five days. Five. Odin. Forsaken. Days.

Five days since she woke up to find sixty percent of her body changed beyond repair.

Five days since her world became as twisted and cruel as the company she once worked for.

Five days since HE had come to see her.

Usagi twitched when she heard the sound of the door opening and she turned her head to see, once more to her disappointment, that HE had not come to see her. Instead it was Zack and Cloud, the former carrying a tray of specially prepared food and the latter carrying the temporary clothes they had found for her. She gave them a small smile. "Hi guys, how's the weather outside? I could feel the humidity from in here."

Zack gave her a unbashfull grin and set the tray on the edge of the bed and sat on a chair while Cloud placed the clothes on the counter before sitting on the floor. "It's been raining since yesterday doll. Training's been a pain in the ass with all the rain pouring down on us." Cloud rolled his eyes but didn't deny it. Usagi giggled before picking up the raw fish, sushi as Tseng had called it, off the tray and ate it without a care. Zack looked a little green as he watched her eat raw food but still gave her an easy grin at the content look she wore. Cloud, raised on a varied mountainous diet, was more curious about the taste than the fact she was eating raw fish and asked her if he could try some of it. Usagi willingly gave him some octopus and some fish-egg filled seaweed cup. Zack couldn't stop the green from reaching his gills by then, merely kept his now shaky grin up for appearances.

A little later and all of the sushi eaten, Zack helped lift her up from the bed as her lower body trembled from the still new strain of unused and unnatural muscles. Cloud carefully slipped the long skirt onto her and slid it up to her waist, than handed her, with a red face, a bra and then long-sleeved black shirt that hide a lot of her changes. She gave him a grateful look.

The boys waited until she had put on all of her new clothes before taking one arm each and helping her reach the door. Cloud opened the door and held her arm as she tried to move a little on her own. Both men needed to be careful that she didn't strain herself into collapsing like the first time. Usagi was more focused on trying to find a rhythm of movement again to notice that they had entered the living room. However, as soon as she flicked her tongue out for a second the informational feedback made her snap her head in the direction of a shadowed corner. Both men paused but as soon as they saw were her gaze landed they shared a look and guided her to the couch before mumbling that they would come by later and leaving the apartment.

The occupants of the apartment did not even notice them leave as they stared at each other for what seemed like hours. However the spell was broken when Usagi blinked and shifted her gaze with an air of light shame and embarrassment. "How has work been the past five days? Slow? Or did you need to find someone to help with the paperwork?" Usagi mentally winced at how bluntly she dished that out. She understood that she had the right to be upset with him damn it but that was no reason to take it out on him!

Her attention returned to him as he shifted and took a step forward into the light. Usagi knew her eyes had widened when she saw the 'shadows' weren't really shadows but a huge black wing that could easily hold his weight in flight if he tried. Her lower body shivered as some instinctive urge traveled through her body.

He finally stopped in front of her, his penetrating gaze holding hers by force. He remained still for a few moments before lowering his hand to the skirt that hide her changes; nearly making her jump out of her skin in the process as his touch sent waves of hot liquid through her. She mentally bashed the feeling down.

She nearly gasped when he started to run his hand over the smooth shape of her lower body, the sensation nearly making it hard to focus on him as he spoke. "My attentions to you did this. For that I apologize." Usagi had to gulp to force her now dry throat to work.

"D-don't say stuff l-like that! You w-weren't the one to d-do this to me!" she stuttered as the familiar stirrings of lust began to make her twitch uncomfortably. Instantly remembering her new condition, she tried to shy away from him but he refused to let her move as he encircled his mythril strong arm around her scaled waist and shifted her onto his lap. He then proceeded to smother her in his dark wing as he kissed the living daylights out of her.

She was so shocked by his actions that she barely noticed her snake-like lower body coil around his legs as her instincts recognized the presence of her mate.

\/\/\\/

She really didn't know how she got herself into these situations.

It all started when she was opening the door to give her new boss, the frickin' General of SOLDIOR himself, his last stack of paperwork for the day at eleven frigin' o'clock in the evening, and the next thing she knew she was presented with the sight of _five male_ bodies having the **hottest** orgy she had ever laid eyes on. The owners of said bodies were in turn staring at her like teenagers who had been caught smooching on the couch.

This staring contest lasted for a minute before Usagi did the one thing that always worked whenever she had been presented with such imagery. She carefully placed the stack of paperwork on a chair, slapped herself a few times, cleared her throat, and told them completely seriously, "The next time you intend to have such an event happening Boss, make sure that you lock the door. The next person who comes in here may not be as willing to pretend such a sight happened; especially considering who is involved. Good night and have a good morning tomorrow." With that she closed the door gently and walked away from the General's office.

For a long time, Usagi knew that she had been watched. How did she know?

Well for one thing she was the General's secretary, she spent most of her work day at the desk next to his office, even lunch was eaten at her desk as she did work. The few times she left her desk, she always noted something had been tampered with in either her stuff or her software. The rest of the time she would see things from the corner of her eye whenever she was walking in the halls, just a dash of red or spiky black hair. Finally after nearly two weeks of this she had had enough.

She forged some notes and messages and sent them out, making sure they knew to meet in the old training room on the other side of the Tower. She waited until all of them were inside before setting an automatic lock on and turning on a speaker. She had told them, word for word, "Alright Boss and boys, listen up. Two weeks of this nonsense is long enough for you gits to understand that I have no intention of running my mouth. However, being stalked and my personal items being fiddled with during said weeks is crossing the line. Stop it now and I won't give the Turks the juiciest blackmail about you guys the world would ever see." She had smirked when Genesis had demanded to know just what she had that would be considered blackmail. She then proceeded to tell them at least three things about each of them that the Turks would have _paid_ her to get. She had made sure that they couldn't hear her as she laughed her head off at their mixed expressions of horror, fury (in Genesis's case), and embarrassment. After a week of nothing happening afterwards Usagi let her guard down, which led her into this situation.

She had been blindfolded and kidnapped and carried to an unknown location. When they removed the blindfold she was presented with the sight of a nice dinner for _**six**_ ready to be eaten. One thing led to another and before she knew it the Puppy told her why she had been brought there. Basically, "_We want you to join our little group of snuggling, naughty-things that kiddies should never __**ever**__ do, and just plain hot sex."_ She would deny nearly chocking on her water when he said that.

Anyway, she asked them to give her a few days to think about it; _'cause if they knew that just a few of the Puppy's kicked expressions and the Chocobo's dropping looks combined would literally make her kiss their feet to get rid of those expressions, she doubted she'd have gotten out of that apartment a virgin._

Fast forward to the present. She now had her hand hovering over the General's, Sephiroth's, office. She knew all of them were inside, and they knew she was here as well; but they were waiting for her to make the first move. It was her who would make the decision. Mentally reigning in her courage, Usagi knocked on the door before opening it; placing an expression of mischievous play on her face.

"Ohh Bo-oss, about that opportunity you mentioned….."

\/\/\/

It was only force of habit that allowed her to not jump from the sounds of steady gun-fire coming from the valley, blocking out the sounds of the bizarre jungle that surrounded the hut. It was even more so when she heard the gun-fire double, creating a sense of thunder booming throughout the air. She sighed when the gunfire ended.

As per usual she laid out the evening dinner, knowing her dear son would be hungry after a day's worth of his father's intensive training. By now it had become normal to eat things that previously you would not have thought of eating, such as the constant swarm of frogs and insects that procreated like rabbits in this forest.

"_Once you let go of your inhabitations an entire world of possibility appears before your eyes."_ She smiled at the memory of her mother's favorite saying. It was that sort of thinking that had gotten her in this situation in the first place.

"If I had followed the traditional manner of the female role, I would never have allowed myself to grow as I did. I would never have gone into that Hel-forsaken mansion, never would have entered the hidden Hell underneath it, nor would I have ever met him and had my son." She reminisced fondly.

"And for that I am grateful." A familiar dark voice intoned from the entrance of their hut. She smiled gently and turned around to see the core of her world. Her lover and the father of her only child, with said child, not even ten years old, standing next to him with pride. Usagi Valentine placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head.

"Well don't just stand there Vincent, Cloud. Dinner will get cold if you don't."

\\\\\\\/\/\

One of the first things she realized when she woke was that she was looking at the ceiling of a very familiar room. The next thing she realized was that she did not know how she got to said room.

Her question was answered when she heard something shift next to her before a startled voice spoke, "Usagi? Usagi, are you awake? Does anything hurt?" As she tried to turn her head a grueling headache began pounding on the right side of her face, making her moan loudly as she tried to remember how she had gotten like this. She felt someone rub her back as whisper comforting words to her as her face slowly became a dull ache.

It was the sounds of multiple footsteps and the door opening that made her try to look over her shoulder, but before she could try and turn her face again she felt very familiar hands take hold her of her face, making sure to be careful with her right side, "Don't move your head Usagi, you have a serious head injury and the possibility of concussion. You are not to move without us helping you." Usagi shifted her gaze to the man above her and with a start, realized that there would only be one reason she would have ended up _here_ during her work-shift.

With a heavy dry swallow, she tentivly spoke, "I guess the jig is up huh?" That got a few reactions.

Sephiroth crossed his arms over his chest and his frown deepened, Genesis fiddled with his Loveless book but did not open it, while Zack and Cloud looked at her like they were a kicked puppy and chocobo respectively. Angeal, who was still holding her face, narrowed his eyes. Usagi internally sighed as her lover and friends watched her. Surprisingly is was Sephiroth who spoke first.

"If you had mentioned this to any of us, it would have been dealt with in an orderly fashion. Instead you let it continue, resulting in numerous injuries to your person and an obvious decline in your work."

Usagi frowned before replying softly, "This was my problem, something that I had to deal with. I refused to have you all be dragged into this."

Usagi mentally winced when she watched her lover's eyes harden at those words.

\.\/\/\\/\

Usagi tensed when she heard and felt him rolled up to her, bluntly ignoring the usual protocol.

She glanced at him, "This is unusual for you, even after Meteor." He smirked.

"I no longer have anything left to really hide. I am a President in title only now having left all of that to Reeve."

She turned her gaze to his noble features, features found in only a few bloodlines in the entire world; many of them descended from a common ancestor. She doubted their cousin knew though. Even if he did, his past ensured that if he ever did figure it out he would bottle it up and throw away the key.

"We agreed to stop after the Incident."

His mouth pulled into a small grin but his gaze remained steadfast on the calming lull of the waves. "That was when we both had too much to lose. It's been ten years since then, we are no longer teenagers with the world watching our every step."

Her eyes became veiled as the pain from memories began once again to stab her through. "It was and still is wrong for us to do this." He turned to her than and replied with silk covered steel.

"We are Shinra Usagi. We walked down a path of sin and temptation from birth. Father had greed, our wayward cousin had sanity within insanity, and we…" His firm hand grasped her wrist and with a tug pulled her into his lap. Usagi shamefully turned her head away as her younger half-brother whispered in her ear.

"We have each other."


End file.
